Mentors and How They Help

The author gives credit to mentors that forced him to get serious about his behavior. Do you have a mentor? How have they helped you this far? 

Wes struggles to truly answer the question: why did he and the other Wes Moore lead such different lives? One aspect he believes set them apart was the people influencing them. Wes praises his community filled with his mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and chain of command at Valley Forge. He was provided with support, and structure and was constantly enabled to make better choices and stop the cycle. On page 179, Wes states that these mentors “who kept pushing [him] to see more than what was directly in front of [him],” was the main thing that made him tap into the unexplored possibilities within himself.. While he did not particularly enjoy these decisions at first, like the forced military school enrollment, they benefited him in the long run. His mentors such as the president of Johns Hopkins, William Brody, and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Fenzel of the hallowed 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, become one of the many, highly respected, mentors that “helped [him] come to mind…. by being entrusted with responsibilities that forced [him] to get serious about [his] behavior,” (179.)

The other Wes Moore also had a primary mentor figure. However, he was not as fortunate to have a powerful mentor. His older brother Tony shaped Moore’s outlook, as Tony grew up in the same environmental circumstances so he was unable to break the cycle himself. How can you help, and push someone to be better, if you cannot do that for yourself? No one had taught Moore to live a responsible life so ultimately he fell into a cycle of brutality and drugs.

Young people need powerful influences. They need to be shown what could be possible if they stepped out of the mold previously made for them. 

Before reading this memoir, I did not even think about the possibility that I have a mentor. I had assumed that I was making these life-changing decisions, and pushing myself to be better, on my own. Though, now I know that is not true. Everyone has a mentor, someone who guides them, the varying factor is whether or not they are actually a good mentor. 

My main mentor would be my mother.

She was the first person to show me that there is more to do besides the “typical” poverty-driven life I was used to. She urged me to break the cycle, get out, and do more. She pushed me to go to college, she pushed me to get a job doing what I am passionate about, and she continues to push me to connect with my community. My mother has made choices for me, that of course I did not agree with at the moment, like choosing what high school I went to, though it benefited me in the long run. While I wanted to go to a high school that would benefit me socially, she pushed me into one that benefited me academically. I think that it was a good decision, though I did not see the appeal at that moment in time.

She guides me, she gives me a broader perspective on life options, she provides constructive feedback to improve various skills that she urged me to work on. I do not fear I will be judged when I express I want to set sights on something new, as I know she will always be there in my corner. She helps me set realistic goals, long term and short term, and tracks my progress towards them to make sure I am on the right path.

I would not be where I am today if I did not have such a guiding mentor.